Pumpkin Cheesecake

I have a new favorite season recipe! But really, when you pair pumpkin with cheesecake, it’s no contest! I found this particular recipe at Fire and Salt, but made a few changes (including a gluten free crust).  The original recipe actually had a rich sour cream layer, but I opted out of it this time around.  I might try it in the future, but this little treat was decadent enough without it!

Crust:

• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• Butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 packet stevia (or sweetened it however you like)

Filling:

• 12 oz cream cheese (1 1/2 – 8 oz packages, softened)
• 1/2 – 15 oz can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

::Crust::

1. Grind the almonds until they are they have the consistency of fine crumbs.
2. Mix the almond crumbs with the cinnamon, sweetener, and enough butter to make the crumb stick together.
3. Press the butter/almond mixture into a pie pan.

::Filling::

1. Blend the cream cheese and pumpkin puree together.
2. Add the sugars and beat until well-blended.
3. Beat in the eggs and evaporated milk.
4. Add the cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well.
5. Pour the filling over the crust.
6. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes; until the cheesecake is set but not dry.
7. After baking, let the cheesecake cool for 30-45 minutes. Refrigerate overnight.

I know there are several “tricks” to prevent cracking from happening (like mixing by hand), but I was feeling lazy, so I had to suffer the consequences:

Luckily… it was nothing that a little strategic cutting and homemade whipped cream couldn’t hide!

Pure bliss!

Merry Christmas to All!

Well, Christmas morning in my house was spent leisurely.

We enjoyed a delicious quiche with mushrooms, spinach, cheese, sausage, bacon, and rosemary made by my mother.  I love quiche.  They are filling but not heavy, and if you’re careful with the cheese, they can be quite healthy!

After breakfast, we cozied up in the living room and dad read us the Christmas story.

And then the present opening began!

Of course, I had to stop in between un-wrappings to send off a few “Merry Christmas” greetings!  I’ll have to take pictures of my stash for everyone to see! I made out like a bandit this year! Lots of great stuff from my parents and wonderful friends.

We snacked pretty much all through the afternoon, so no one was really in the mood to eat an actual meal until dinner time. But oh, what a dinner it was!

This morning, I threw everything into a crockpot for Johnstone’s Vin Banc’s Choucroute.  It was absolutely scrumptious!  Warm, hearty, and savory.

Along with it, we had some green beans, homemade cranberry sauce and one of my all time favorites…

My aunt’s broccoli salad!

And to top it all off…

Homemade Pumpkin Cheesecake! Holy Yummo, this was amazing! I’ll post the recipe later, but for now, I am off to bed!  I have an early morning date with the gym tomorrow… No more sugar for me!

Christmas Oatmeal Countdown Day 3

Since yesterday’s oatmeal countdown was sugar-overkill, I toned down this morning’s just a tad.  In this bowl, I added a tablespoon of ground flax, cinnamon, a couple spoonfulls of apple butter, and a sprinkle of shredded coconut and pecans.  And wah-la!  Apple pie oatmeal!

Christmas Candy Extravaganza!

I’m a bit late in posting this, but I just had to share all the wonderful goodies being made in my home!  I am delighted to have my parents here with me for the holidays; for me and my mom, that means baking!! We spent ALL DAY last Saturday creating all kinds of lovely treats for our friends.  Here’s a little bit of the action:

Yes, we really did start out with all this stuff!  When I say we spent all day in the kitchen, I really do mean ALL DAY!

This was my pet project.  I was determined to make the best white chocolate covered buckeyes in the history of Christmas!

They actually ended up giving me much more stress than pleasure during the creation process, and they certainly won’t be winner any awards for aesthetics, but they are rich, creamy, and truly melt-in-your-mouth decadent!

My lovely mother, making sure everything tastes just right!

These little guys are Baby Ruths (prior to being dunked in dark chocolate!) But, we changed the recipe up a little bit and used ALMOND BUTTER instead of peanut butter.   Mmmm. I love me some almond butter!

We also modified my aunt’s cashew-toffee mix to use Rice Chex instead of Shredded Wheat and gluten free pretzels.  It was still out of this world, and the first of our goodies to completely disappear!

This is another of my favorites this year: 7 Layer Bars.  Instead of using glutenous Graham Crackers, I crushed up some GF Crackers, tossed with brown sugar and used that for the crust.  Then you simply layer on coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, nuts, and sweetened condensed milk.  As you can see, I split the pan, using half white chocolate and half dark chocolate chips, just for a little variety!

Then you just throw it all in the oven and, pesto:

Lots of ooey, gooey, chewy goodness!

I also made 3 different kinds of Almond Bark Candy:

Crushed peppermint

Mint.  Just check out those whimsical swirls! This one tasted JUST like an Andes Mint!

And my favorite… dried cherries and toasted cashews

Eventually, everything got wrapped up into little goody packages and passed out to friends.  Everyone can now thank me for the extra incentive to hit the gym this January.  (Oh, and those delightful looking treats with the pecans are caramel fudge!)

And if anyone is interested in these recipes, let me know! I’ll be happy to post them! =)

Christmas Oatmeal Countdown Day 2

For Christmas Oatmeal Day 2, I decided I wanted to liven things up a little bit with some color.  To my regular bowl of oats, I added a crushed Bob’s peppermint stick (Bob’s is really the only way to go, as far as peppermint candy is concerned!) and some white chocolate chips.

In sounded great in theory, and you really can’t go wrong with either flavors, but it was a tad too sweet for breakfast… at least for me! This was more like a dessert oatmeal!

Sandwich Time!

I just realized I had “drafted” this post last week, so I thought I might as well publish it already!!  For the first time in FOUR MONTHS I had a sandwich!  I have been craving the simplicity of meat, lettuce, mayo, and ‘maters hugged between two pieces of toasted bread ever since I went gluten-free, and I have finally be able to satisfy that craving!  Mom bought me a loaf of Ener-G White Rice bread, and I couldn’t wait 10 minutes after getting it home to try it out!

My initial thought was something along the lines of: “Are you kidding me?? Is this bread made from munchkinlanders!?”  The slices are about half the size of “regular” bread.  But, I was just so happy to actually have two slices of bread to pop into the toaster that I couldn’t be too critical.  I piled up up with turkey meat, some sliced ham, mayo, and horseradish, then partnered it up with some juicy grapes and couple of crisp dill pickles.

My verdict?  Definitely not the same as the bread I’m used to.  I’m more of an nutty, chewy, Ezekiel bread kind of gal, and this was a bit too “white bread-ish” for my fancy, but hey… it was still a sandwich, and I will most certainly be making another again soon!

Christmas Oatmeal Countdown Day 1

In celebration of Christmas week, I decided to put a little holiday spin on my traditional oatmeal breakfasts. Here is December 21st!

Oats made a splash of egg nog and a sprinkling of coconut flakes!

Christmas Party Fun

Friday night I went to a Christmas party…. that’s right. I actually went out on a Friday night! That’s something that hasn’t happened in about 2 months! But, I figured I might as well enjoy my time off from school and do some socializing.  And of course, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the food!

Lots of yummy goodies and Christmas treats…

And three different kinds of chili.  I’ll be diplomatic and not tell you which I thought was the best!  =)

The evening was spent watching Home Alone 2 and playing Rock Band.

Tessa rocked the house. Plus, she’s just cute, so I had to include a picture! =)

Grainy iPhone picture… but here are the girls!

Dr. Pepper Chicken

Sounds crazy… but you must try this recipe.  My dear friend Cylinda told me about this recipe for chicken using a can of Diet Coke and catsup.  It sounded crazy (and easy) enough that I decided to give it a shot. Except… I only had Diet Dr. Pepper on hand, so I improvised.   I was very pleased with the results, and I definitely plan on using this recipe again!  I’m sure you can make all sorts of variations – like adding pineapple chunks, veggies, spices, etc…  But here’s the basic recipe:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 can Diet Coke (or Dr. Pepper)
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• garlic, diced
• olive oil

1. Brown each side of the chicken in olive oil in a sauce pan.
2. Pour the coke and catsup over the chicken.
3. Place the onion slices and diced garlic on top of the chicken.
4. Put the top on the pan and let simmer for 10-12 minutes.
5. Turn the chicken pieces over and let simmer for another 10-12 minutes.

You can serve it with veggies, on rice, or even use a fork to shred the chicken and eat it on a sandwich!

christmas break to-do list

i’ve been so busy doing things i have to do.  i have post-its all over the place reminding me of my work schedule, assignment due dates, and deadlines. so, i thought i’d actually make a list of things i want to do as soon as i gain my freedom with the conclusion of the semester. maybe it will help power me through these next few days…

1. watch sleepless in seattle
2. bake christmas goodies
3. catch up on my scrapbooks
4. organize my closet
5. read a good book
6. drink coffee with my mama
7. watch ncis with my dad
8. take pictures
9. revamp my workouts
10. watch julie and julia
11. knit and crochet
12. find the perfect pair of comfy shoes
13. christmas shop
14. take naps
15. create new recipes
16. plan an ugly christmas sweater party
17. write a letter
18. sit at a coffee shop and people watch
19. visit anthropologie and dream
20. give myself a home mani-pedi